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Japanese for Dummies (English and Japanese Edition) Paperback – January 1, 2002

Japanese Edition by Ph.D. Sato, Eriko (Author)
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 77 ratings
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Japanese For Dummies, 3rd Edition
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Japanese is a wonderful language, very different from European languages. It is also the gateway to the rich culture of the exciting and complex island nation of Japan. Some people get intimidated by the prospect of speaking Japanese—worried that it’s just too complex and different—but these fears are unfounded. While you can devote a lifetime to the study of this or any language, picking up the basics of Japanese doesn’t require any more than an interest and a willingness to try something new.

Japanese For Dummies has everything you need to get off the ground with speaking the language. Author and Professor of Japanese Eriko Sato starts you off with the essentials of grammar and pronunciation, giving you a working sense of the language, before showing you Japanese in action. You’ll then explore vocabulary and expressions through dialogues taking place in situations such as:

  • Introductions and greetings
  • Eating and drink ing
  • Shopping
  • Exploring the town
  • Talking on the telephone
  • Asking directions
  • Getting around
  • Staying at a hotel

    You’ll also discover social customs, formalities, and manners, from how and when to bow to how to unwrap a present. Whether you simply want to introduce yourself to the Japanese language, say a few words to a neighbor or coworker, or you’re planning a major trip or study abroad in Japan, Japanese For Dummies will enable you to get the basics fast and work towards your own goal at your own pace. You’ll also find out about:

    • How to use karaoke to help you learn Japanese
    • Movies that will introduce you to Japanese culture and language
    • Learning Japanese the “gourmet” way
    • When ignoring “no, thank you” shows good manners
    • Proper table manners
    • Proper body language
    • How to sound fluent
    • And much more!

      With helpful vocabulary summaries, a mini-dictionary at the end, and an audio CD full of conversations and pronunciations, Japanese For Dummies assumes no prior knowledge of Japanese on your part—providing the perfect guide for a quick-but-thorough, lighthearted-but-not-lightweight introduction to the language.

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Previous page
  1. Print length
    386 pages
  2. Language
    English, Japanese
  3. Publisher
    For Dummies
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 2002
  5. Dimensions
    7 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0764554298
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0764554292
  8. See all details
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The Amazon Book Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Speak Japanese the fun and easy way!

Packed with clear explanations and real-world examples

Your friendly guide to understanding Japanese quickly and easily!

Whether you re a student, a traveler, or you just want to pick up basic Japanese, this unintimidating guide will help you start speaking the language in no time. Inside you ll find a wealth of fascinating cultural facts and handy references including a Japanese-English mini-dictionary, lists of common expressions and verbs, and much more!

All this on the bonus audio CD

  • Pick up Japanese the easy way through actual conversations
  • Features dialogues by native Japanese speakers
  • Allows you to hear Japanese as it s really spoken
  • Reinforces lessons from the book

    Get smart! @www.dummies.com

    • Find listings of all our books
    • Create your own personalized book with Hungry Minds a la Carte
    • Sign up for daily eTips at www.dummiesdaily.com

About the Author

Eriko Sato, PhD, is Professor of Japanese at State University of New York (SUNY) at Stony Brook. Sato is a native Japanese speaker experienced in teaching Japanese and in translation.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ For Dummies; 1st edition (January 1, 2002)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English, Japanese
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 386 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0764554298
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0764554292
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.4 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7 x 0.75 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 77 ratings

About the author

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Eriko Sato

Eriko Sato

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Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
77 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Malachi Hachi
5.0 out of 5 stars Very Helpful
Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2009
Verified Purchase
Although I haven't actually finished the book yet, I can say it is very good. You do get a basic understanding of the japanese language as long as you stick with it and practice often. It is very clear and well organized. You may feel a bit goofy while speaking out loud with the CD but hey its part of the fun. The japanese to english dictionary is exactly as they say, mini, but you shouldn't really be expecting anything much bigger since this is just a starters book so its all good. I'd recommend this to anyone who is planning on traveling to japan, it'll make you feel more confident speaking to the locals.
8 people found this helpful
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Amanda
4.0 out of 5 stars decent book
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book is focused mostly on getting you ready for a trip to Japan and will teach you basic things like how to order food in a restaurant. It does not focus on learning the syllabaries or anything more intermediate then the most basic communication. Not the best book for someone that is serious about fully understanding the Japanese language, but great for a casual learner or a beginner.
One person found this helpful
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M. DePiesse
5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2013
Verified Purchase
No, there is no Kanji or Kana, but this really helped me with grammar and remembering phrases.
You may talk with a strange accent if you aren't used to reading romaji, though.
She/He (the author) would write out the pronunciation for a word like "itadakimasu" as ee-tah-dah-kee-mah-soo
whereas, in a normal conversation, you would hardly hear the "su" at the end.

Either way, I'm not disappointed in this book. I learned a lot from it. The For Dummies series is pretty great.
2 people found this helpful
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Supreem
3.0 out of 5 stars Average
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2012
Verified Purchase
This book offers a lot of good advice and a lot of words to remember. It also offers a some good things that some other books don't talk about. It's not quite 100% my method on learning the language, but I can still follow it. The only downside I can think of for this book is that it has absolutely no Hiragana, Katakana, or Kanji; It is all Romaji, which I think is a vital missing link.
10 people found this helpful
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I Loza
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Learning Aid!
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2009
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While there is the setback that it is all in either English or romaji, Japanese for dummies is a great learning aid if used along with other Japanese methods. If this book is the only way you plan to learn Japanese, then you really are a DUMMY. This book gives you a basic understanding of the language you are about to immerse yourself in. For additional Japanese (or any language) learning visit [...], this book will help you make sense of basic Nihongo (Japanese)
One person found this helpful
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Mama Dora
5.0 out of 5 stars very good learning tool
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2010
Verified Purchase
this book has been extremely helpful, and I have been a beginner-intermediate with japanese for a bit. this has many helpful tools for grammar and sentance structure and more. this is great for all begginners through intermediate for sure!

the CD could have had more than conversation but it in and of itself is also helpful for those that do not understand the conversive quality of the language!
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Kosi Thomas
4.0 out of 5 stars great condition
Reviewed in the United States on July 24, 2013
Verified Purchase
i am quite pleased with the condition the book came in, for a used book it was particularly unused however i'm disappointed that the cd didn't come with it. But i'm please with the time frame that it came in as well.
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Aiquirion
2.0 out of 5 stars wish it was more thural
Reviewed in the United States on March 17, 2012
Verified Purchase
The reason I bought this book as many of you here did or are thinking about doing so. Was to learn a new language and it so happened that I wanted to learn japanese which I was thrilled to see that the "for dummies series" actually had it. Me being a fan of their drawing manga for dummies was very popular for me and my anime fan friends back in high school; I just knew I had to give this book a try.( what harm could it do, right!):O WRONG! Instead of it actually introducing me into the japanese language which it kinda did, it also was showing me and allowing me to be illiterate with the japanese characters and form of words of how to read (kanji) japanese.

As many reviewers stated, this book is filled with only ro-maji's (that's japanese words written out into English form)its only sole purpose was to help people who are new to reading japanese characters transitioning them from reading it out in english form towards kana and kanji characters; its not some thing to be used and based upon entirely. Which is seen in this book from front to back cover to cover; and that to me is just plain half stepping.

To really learn and fully appreciate another's language you have to be willing to go all the way an learn both how its pronounced and spoken to how its written and read and that's where japanese for dummies failed. Yes I admit it does give its readers a faster and easier way of learning how to speak and pronounce japanese but sometimes as my ojisan (grandfather) says it best to go at a turtle's pace an learn as much of something as you can to fully appreciate it then going at a hare's pace and only end up finding that you didn't rightfully obtain something because you wanted the easy way out and in life as we all know nothing is gained so easily without a price to be paid and here that exception is in the illiteracy towards how reading japanese is truly supposed to be read.

And on a side note the only reason why I don't hate it and haven't returned it is because I believe any information is worth acknowledging just as a forewarning don't try to solely depend on this book for japanese there are plenty of other good resource materials out there waiting you just have to search and the best one that appeals to you and your criteria.
4 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

andrea robinson
5.0 out of 5 stars learning japanese
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 26, 2013
Verified Purchase
I bought for my son who is really into anything Japanese he says it is excellent most surprised to receive cd with it recommend for anyone considering visiting japan
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars nice written book
Reviewed in Germany on December 23, 2012
Verified Purchase
I ordered this book due to a vacation in japan with my mum. Because none of us can speak japanese and my brother wasn't around the hole time I thought it would be helpful to speak a little bit japanese. Unfortuantly the vacation was cancled so I never could try the few words I learned.
I have to say, that's very sad this book is only available in english. I am German and it's not easy to learn a language by an other language. The second part is, don't expect to learn writhing in japanese. This book only deals with Romaji. This is a problem because you are never able to read anythink in japanese. You can talk and understand maybe but that's it. Maybe it's good for a start but if you really want to learn japanese that's the wrong book. But still it's helpful and you can learn a lot.
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MoneyHoney
4.0 out of 5 stars Used version
Reviewed in Canada on December 10, 2014
Verified Purchase
Well I bought the used version and it did look a little rough and had no CD but considering that I paid $0.01 plus shipping, it was a steal! There were no marking in it, no ripped pages, the cover is not falling off.....all in all a good purchase.
One person found this helpful
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Sarah Rogers
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 30, 2015
Verified Purchase
Brilliant
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B. Wrigley
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy Japanese
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 22, 2017
Verified Purchase
Easy to read and entertaining
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